Swapping, Selling, and Saving

Charlotte@Living Well on the Cheap  —  October 15, 2012 — 6 Comments

I seem to have entered a new frontier of thriftiness. I’ve cut out the middle man (the thrift store) and have now gone directly to trading stuff I don’t want for stuff other people don’t want. Genius, no? I have my friend Charlene to thank. She invited me to a local facebook group full of mamas swapping and selling their junk. I’m glad I got in when I did, because the group has gotten really popular, really fast, and the group administrators have capped it at 1,000 members. So far I’ve made about $100 selling baby stuff I couldn’t return to stores-mostly gifts we received duplicates of and clothes Jack outgrew (I’m saving my favorites for future babies, but anything I feel “eh” about goes up for sale). And I’ve bought some stuff, too, like a brand new pair of jeans for me for only $8. When we were visiting Houston last weekend my friend Sarah produced a yoga mat for Jack to hang out on when he wasn’t being cuddled or sleeping in his pack ‘n play and by the time we came back I was convinced that a yoga mat is an essential piece of baby gear. I posted in the facebook group that I was looking for one and got it for free by trading a baby book that I’d already listed for sale. Can’t beat that deal with a stick!

Part of this sudden surge in thriftiness is due to the fact that I’m in a bit of a pickle with my camera situation. Perhaps you’ve noticed a general vibe of crappiness to most of the pictures posted on my blog lately? That’s because I have two point and shoot cameras and both of them are broken. Can you believe it? What a bummer. I’ve been using my phone to take pictures, which leaves quite a bit to be desired. I’ve finally decided that instead of throwing more money at another point and shoot that will only make me moderately happy I’m going to save up for a DSLR. So all the money I’m making selling baby stuff is going into a jar and all of my shop proceeds are staying in my Paypal account until I can save up $500, which is about the cost of a basic entry-level DSLR. It’s a big leap for me but I’m hoping it will really improve the quality of the pictures here and in my shop, plus save us money on having family portraits professionally taken.

So that’s where I get my thrills these days! Selling unused baby gear and saving my money in a jar. Haha. I’ve never saved up for a big purchase all by myself before. When I was younger I would’ve just used a credit card and in recent years its always been a joint effort between Nick and me. But since Nick could care less about what kind of camera we use I’m on my own here. It’s kind of fun, actually. Hopefully I’ll have enough saved up by Thanksgiving so I can maybe take advantage of Black Friday sales!

Charlotte@Living Well on the Cheap

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6 responses to Swapping, Selling, and Saving

  1. Janet (Country Mouse) October 15, 2012 at 8:04 pm

    Great idea!!! I hate to buy anything on credit. I always save money in a jar. It was hard for me to turn lose of baby things, but I did. However, I still have a few just so I can look at them once in a while and smile. That’s not too obsessive is it? The baby just turned 31 today and has three of his own. LOL I hope you get your camera soon.

  2. If you’re debating between a Nikon and Canon, I would just like to rave about my Canon Rebel t2i…its basically the same as the Rebel t3i, except the 3i has better video capabilities and is a bit more expensive because its newer. If you are interested in video{you know…with a baby and all!}, you might want to go with the 3, but I find the 2 to be fantastic. You mentioned family portraits, and I’m no professional, but I’ve taken some photos(http://abrandisizedblog.blogspot.com/2012/05/one-year.html ), and I couldn’t be happier! Best of luck! I’m doing the same thing for my sofa; Saving isn’t fun!

  3. I’ve been saving for a good DSLR camera for a few months now. My selling point to my husband was being able to save on family portraits as well! Can’t wait to find out what you decide to get!

  4. I love this! When I was pregnant I also joined my local mom swap group… Its so helpful! I was even able to give away the formula I had stocked up on just incase I couldnt breastfeed to a mom in need! I also bought some Baby Einstein DVDs for my little guy- a life saver!!!

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